I've driven from The Bay Area to Jackson Hole on the I-80 a couple of times, never all in one day, always with one overnight. For some reason, I've stayed overnight in Winnemucca and in Wells -- but never Elko. This last trip, on the return home, I finally did, and it left me wondering why I never did in the first place. Elko is THE stopping point for all of us "no-more-than-10-hour-per-day" drivers on journeys from Northern California to points East using the I-80. Apologies to Winnemucca, but with some exceptions there are a lot of rundown places there, or they are very expensive, and not a lot of great restaurants. Wells, a GREAT place to stop for gas or a quick snack, but really not so much for staying overnight or eating a good meal, it's a bit lacking.

Elko, on the other hand, situated at a good midway point, has lots of restaurants, and lots of decent motels & hotels wherein all the competition generally keeps the rates reasonable. Also, for us traveling with a dog, Elko is BY FAR the best place to stay as there are at least two great parks to take your dog for the evening and morning walks (unfortunately, not dog parks, but still nice ones where you can take them on a leash), while the other two towns I mentioned above are not as amenable.

And that (finally) leads me to the Rodeway Inn in Elko.

Years ago, maybe like in the '70s and '80s, Rodeway had a pretty decent reputation. As times went on, however, Rodeway, at least image-wise, was nothing more than the bad end of Motel 6.

Well, after having driven outbound and making the mistake of staying at the Valu Inn in Winnemucca, but having taken a pit stop for my dog in Elko and taking a closer look and deciding that's where I'd stay on the way back, I went to figure out which one of the many motels I'd try -- although initially Rodeway was not one of them. They had a great price, but I was guessing that was because they were cheap accommodations. But then I looked a little further on TripAdvisor and noticed that the property had actually gotten decent reviews. Because I'm on such a budget, and because when you have the majority of reviewers being positive, I decided to bite the bullet and see if it was really so.

I arrived at the Rodeway and it looked small and a bit of an older property, and it was right on the main drag, Idaho Street, in the middle of all the action where there could have been potential for noise, and I first got nervous I had made a huge mistake.

But my fears were unfounded: it turned out to be EXCELLENT!

The registration office is not much, no. But once I got in the room my fears were completely alleviated. Folks - the owners (or managers?) of this place, who appear to be South Asian (from India, possibly?), have done a spectacular job. Everything looks new. Wonderful carpet, beautiful bedspreads, seemingly fresh paint and wallpaper (even the ceiling looks bright & clean!), a nice big television (not flat screen, but not a problem), exceptionally clean & modern bathroom with great water pressure -- and, best of all, and something I would never have expected in a Rodeway, excellent, seemingly new pillow-top mattresses for one VERY comfy sleep. Plus, not due to the management but just the way the hotel was originally built, the rooms are huge -- good-sized area for the beds, with a very nice open area in between the bedroom & bathroom -- essentially, the room is L-shaped, which should give you a better idea. Also -- a microwave and a mini-fridge, great touches.

And, the room was well insulated and very quiet -- heard no traffic noise -- plus my no smoking room did not smell a bit like someone had smoked in it or there was traveling smoke from a smoking room, as is the case in so many other hotels -- probably because the room below is nonsmoking too. Not only that, the management has put a sign in the room that if the cleaning crew comes in the next morning and smells smoke, they will charge you for cleaning the smell out. I think it said $150? - although I'm not sure if they really can enforce that - but it certainly shows a great deal of compassion and responsibility on their part for us nonsmokers. No worries, smokers -- they have rooms for you too.

If there are but a few minor complaints it's that the few pieces of furniture in the room are outdated and don't match the beds, walls, carpet and bathroom in quality. But there isn't much of it and it's no big deal. As I said, water pressure is good but, at least in my room, shower head could be replaced (owners, take note!). If the hotel were to be sold out, there would not be enough parking in the hotel parking lot -- and there definitely is not room for a motorhome or truck, much less a truck towing a car. However, there appears to be plenty of street parking nearby.

The owners and/or managers -- VERY nice people. They live on the property in the unit behind the desk. Continental breakfast is served -- cereal, fruit, juice, coffee. If you are the type that is expecting a Hampton Inn breakfast than forget it. They don't have half as much and they have no tables to sit at -- you have to take it up to the room, where there is a table and two chairs anyway. But, folks, for me, I've never gotten a hotel EVER based on what kind of breakfast they serve -- it's all about the lowest price for the best quality room, not about eggs, bacon & waffles. I usually don't eat breakfast -- or if I need something I stop at a coffee place. If a nice, big, hot breakfast with your room is important to you, then go somewhere else and pay an extra $20-$40 for the privilege. There IS a great coffee place around the corner, though -- Cowboy Joe's on 5th Street and that took care of my good morning coffee craving.

With all due respect to the person who wrote the review just below this, this IS a very safe motel and I feel they were making a mountain out of a molehill. The owners LIVE on the property with a window out to the parking lot and most of the rooms, so I think that situation with the key was a bit over-dramatized and to say they will never stay there again, when the place is overall terrific, is a silly statement.

So, to the owners of this Rodeway Inn -- WELL DONE! And it will make me look twice at other Rodeway Inns. But readers -- please don't sell out the hotel for my next trip through Elko! :)

I was taking my 21 year old daughter to college & made a reservation in Elko which was about the half way point. It took longer to pack than we expected, so we didn't arrive in Elko until 2:00 a.m. The hotel manager called my husband at home about 11:00 p.m. & told him what room we would be staying in & that they were leaving the key under the mat. He questioned the safety & they said it wouldn't be a problem. This is a hotel where all the doors are on the outside & ours was on the 1st floor with cars parked right in front of our door. Then, the mat was one of those that was grated, so you could see right through it & see the envelope with the key. It worked out ok, but it could have been disasterous. It was a very clean, older hotel, so if you know that you will be there before the manager decides to go to bed it may be a good option for you, but I will never stay there again.

Basic motel with few amenities, but friendly owner, comfortable clean room.
only negative was it was right off the main road, which meant some albeit minor road noise.
Simple continental breakfast.

This place was great. It was clean, spacious and comfortable. What I liked best of all was the fact that it had two sinks; one was inside the actual bathroom area, the other was outside so one person could brush teeth, put on make-up, etc., while the other was using the facilities. The other wonderful thing was that both sinks came with long countertops so I didn't have to balance all my toiletries on the edge of the sink. If you are heading through Nevada and want to break up your trip, this is the place to stay.